POETRY IN MOTION | Byron Laszlo, aka Lord Byron, has nurtured an eclectic style at his Friday parties, which have been going on for nearly six years in the old Club One space. (Photo courtesy Michelle McLaughlin)

Panoptikon sounds like a dark, mysterious empire borne out of Star Wars or 19th century Utilitarians. Conjuring an industrial, aggressive image, there’s nothing to say it isn’t — save for Byron Laszlo. His weekly dance night in the old Club One space has thrived with the support of a devoted fan base. But the atmosphere is far from that darkness he so masterfully plays off.

“The objective of Panoptikon has been the same,” Laszlo says. “People come to have an awesome time. We welcome all crowds and anybody who wants to feel comfortable in their own skin.”

But it has been a hell of a road. Laszlo — who goes by the handle Lord Byron, the Romantic poet his mother named him after — has overcome a wild youth, a battle with alcohol and living in the closet all to pursue his passion for the nightclub scene.

Laszlo grew up with the classic rock and disco of the ‘70s but started hitting Deep Ellum clubs as an underage teen in the New Wave ‘80s. That fascination grew into infatuation with the hip, older crowd and underground venues like Video Bar and Aqua Lounge. He was hooked.

“I never really had that DJ talent — I just wanted to play music,” he admits. “It was about 1991 where I wanted to be on that side of the business and so I made this mixtape of music and I was hired at Aqua Lounge. “

Laszlo went on to become a staple in the scene, but in 2000, he pulled away from it all. He had to.

“I was drinking heavily and I wasn’t handling those consequences very well,” he says. “It was very fortunate I never went to prison.”

After five DWIs, he realized his problem and immediately quit alcohol altogether — even mouthwash. Laszlo asserts that while he may not crave a drink anymore, he hasn’t been perfect. And his healthier path didn’t come without worry.

“I missed being involved with clubs and I wanted to get back into it, but I didn’t know if I could do it sober,” he says.

Six years ago, Laszlo boldly walked into Club One to pitch his idea to the Martinez family, the new owners. While Deep Ellum was undergoing a surge in hip-hop music, he had to convince them to host a weekly party featuring everything but that. Such a decision at that time could only be poison for a nightclub.

“Hip-hop was hot, but I wanted something that would get more people to want to go out,” venue manager Shelley Martinez says. “I felt Byron was the perfect fit and his music helps people get to a place of happiness. That’s why I continue to stay beside him.”

Panoptikon will celebrate six years next month, overcoming any stigma from the hip-hop environment, the lingering gay aura of the old Club One and the general fear of Deep Ellum. He has reconfigured the Friday night event, adding bands and burlesque to the usual mix. His changing recipe keeps a devoted crowd and offers something for new fans as he reaches out to SMU students, the Cedar Springs regulars and anyone else willing to party for the mere fun of it.

“Shelley stuck with me the whole time. I’ve fought like hell for this and succeeded,” he says. “Some people may look at us and call us Gothic, and while I’ll play that sometimes, the music is universal from Robyn to German electronica to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.”

Laszlo started out Panoptikon on a more musically aggressive note. Over the recent past, that music has taken on a happier vibe. Coincidentally, Laszlo came out about two years ago. His partner Jiri noticed the evolution.

“Every year I make an anniversary CD and he told me he could hear this progression,” he says. “Taking a step back to look at it, it made sense.”

Laszlo lived a sheltered life abetted by depression. Fearing judgment, he even remained closeted during the first year of their relationship. He gives his partner the credit to face facts.

“I have a very wonderful partner and he was so encouraging,” he says. “I fought it very hard and wore a lot of masks. Then we just decided to let everyone know.  I was already the black sheep of the family; I might as well be the gay black sheep. And it’s been the best thing.”

He has expanded his party empire to the monthly throwback Disco Versus Retro, a night of ’70s and ’80s music that brings him full circle to the music he grew up with. He hadn’t realized April’s event was the night’s three-year anniversary.

Where Panoptikon veers in all directions with an eclectic mix of people and sounds, D v. R celebrates trash disco and the irreverent ’80s with attire that includes afro wigs, shiny clothing and even roller skates — and not even in an ironic fashion.

“It is such a blast and our way to reach out to patrons who might not come to Panoptikon,” he beams. “Plus, the club has this big wooden floor and it’s so great for skates!”

As for getting the Cedar Springs crowd to stop in to one of his nights, Laszlo is quick to offer a spiel. It’s nothing rehearsed because Laszlo has a way of speaking that every word comes out heartfelt.

“We’ve always had an LGBT crowd and I know our location is probably the biggest wall for the Cedar Springs crowd but I would like them to just venture out one night our way and have just as much fun if not more. Just once. And I think they’d come back — even with friends.”
Visit PanoptikonDallas.com for Laszlo’s  calendar of events.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition April 20, 2012.

STEVEN LINDSEY  | Contributing Writer
stevencraiglindsey@me.com

………………………….

CHI CHI LARUE
Drama Room, 3851 Cedar Springs Road, 10 p.m.–midnight,
Tin Room, 2514 Hudnall St.,
midnight-2 a.m., Sept. 16 and 17.

………………………….

Pulling over to a McDonald’s to access their free wi-fi in preparation for an interview with legendary adult film director Chi Chi LaRue seemed like a good idea at the time. A quick visit to her website and a review of her bio wouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

Except it never got that far. When a large photo of her film CockWatch, featuring stars with names like Drake Jaden, David Chase and Colton Steele, popped up on-screen … well, let’s just say the kiddies in Playland weren’t prepared for those kinds of McNuggets.

So I scooped up my laptop and headed to the car to call LaRue (the drag alter ego of Larry David Paciotti), who had just returned to Los Angeles after a three-movie shoot in Florida and a tropical-storm-soaked weekend at Southern Decadence in New Orleans. I actually ran into the diva at a bar in NOLA but didn’t recognize her since her extraordinary weight loss. Since her gastric bypass surgery three years ago, she’s lost more than 150 pounds (or the equivalent of 1.35 twinks).

“I’m glad I did it; I’d do it again,” she says. “It’s changed everything about me. It’s changed the way I even look at myself as far as the Chi Chi LaRue character goes. It took me a while to get back into character. Having lost the weight, I had it in my head that I wasn’t going to be my character anymore. But the character’s inside me. It’s what I exude and put out there and how I present myself. Fat or thin, you can do that. I had to get it into my head that I could still be big and flamboyant even in a smaller body.”

If anything, slimming down has energized LaRue and kept her busier than ever. In addition to directing gay porn movies in fabulous destinations all over the world, she has a retail store in West Hollywood that sells a variety of Chi Chi (and chi-chi) merchandise, and she books DJ gigs at gay clubs from coast to coast.

Which is exactly what brings her to Dallas for Pride. She’ll be spinning at the Drama Room and Tin Room on Friday and Saturday nights, then heads to the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade on Sunday. When she found out the Drama Room is next door to a certain Cedar Springs restaurant, though, she immediately perked up.

“Oooh, I love the Black-eyed Pea! I will be having some fried pickles. Guaranteed. I love the Black-eyed Pea!” she says.

Other than a few quick ventures out for a little comfort food and her official public appearances, LaRue’s travels have been pretty low-key.

“I like to stay in my hotel and just kind of chill and get ready for the DJ gig. I live my life as a vampire and stay in during the day since I’m working at night. When I’m only somewhere for a couple days, I don’t like to go out and wear myself out,” she says. “I’m an old woman! I’m a 51-year-old twat!”

Once the Dallas gig is over, it’s back to the grind of directing and traveling.

“I’m shooting a movie with Chris Crocker. You know who Chris Crocker is, right? He’s the boy who went on YouTube and did, ‘Leave Brittney Alone!’ He’s now turned himself into a cutie boy and wants to do a porn. I’m shooting his probably first and only porn movie,” LaRue says.

After that, it’s another movie with the Russo twins, a new flick with Greg Everett and DJing in San Francisco for the Folsom Street Fair.

“It never stops,” she says. “I just go, go, go. Same time, different year. And I’m happy with that. I’ve kept my name out there for 25 years. It’s great that someone’s stuck with me that long. I feel like Madonna, damn it! Well, sometimes I feel like Madonna, and sometimes I feel like Courtney Love the day after.”

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 16, 2011.

DRACONIS VON TRAPP  |  Intern
intern@dallasvoice.com

Patrick Mikyles raises the roof Thursday nights at the Rose Room, but he also raises some eyebrows: Entertainers dressed as men aren’t the norm at the venue famous for its drag shows. But Mikyles has made his way into the ranks of queens and kings as a pioneer in his category.

Originally from Odessa, Mikyles started dancing in a show at Club Sin City there. His break came four years ago when he was supposed to dance back-up for a drag queen. At the last minute, the queen changed routines, so Mikyles approached the show director and asked if he could do a fill-in performance. The director agreed and said he could do the second show for $30. When Mikyles asked if he had to pay before or after he performed, the director gave him an odd look. “No, honey, I pay you $30.”

That was when Patrick Mikyles was born.

Since then Mikyles has performed at multiple clubs from Amarillo to Florida. He refers to himself as a “true male entertainer.”

“I can entertain the crowd with my clothes on,” Mikyles jokes.

While he doesn’t have a classical dance background, Mikyles has a eidetic memory when it comes to dance. He describes his style as “very energetic, go-getter” and says his influences range from Michael Jackson and Beyonce to James Brown. “It’s really eclectic,” he says. “There really is a lot of choreography that goes into it.”

When he first moved to Dallas, Mikyles set as his goal to be the first entertainer to work the Rose Room as a male.

“[The Rose Room] is a staple in drag and performing arts, I think. It’s really big for the LGBT community,” he says.

While he encountered controversy upon winning the newcomer contest, Mikyles soldiered through until he was accepted. He knew it would mean a lot for the drag king community and other male entertainers to become a regular at the club. Since achieving that, Mikyles has opened the door for other male entertainers and drag kings, giving confidence to performers who don’t specialize in female impersonation.

Even though he’s a crowd favorite and gets plenty of tips each show, Mikyles still gets a few odd looks backstage.

“I’ve met a lot of people while in the community,” he says. “Layla LaRue has been a mentor, and I’ve known some of the queens up there for years; they’re not strangers. But some of the up-and-coming girls are kind of uneasy about it. I think it’s just a matter of [them] not knowing me. I’m just an easy-going guy; I’m not here about the drama.”

It’s not just the other performers — sometimes the audience is unprepared for his act. The initial reaction can be something like, “What is this guy doing on stage?”

“By the second number they usually come around,” he says. (The main performers usually do two numbers a night between the amateur acts.)

Even as an experienced performer, Mikyles still gets nervous. How does he get pumped for a show? “I take in plenty of alcohol,” he quips, then adds quickly, “No, I’m kidding.”

He still prays before every show and lets the music move him. Some of the thoughts swirling through his head include, “Don’t fall,” “Are they gonna like me?” and “Am I gonna remember the steps?” And while much of what he does is choreographed, Mikyles still improvises.

Mikyles has also won Mr. Amarillo USofA and hopes to tour while getting a few more titles under his belt before trying an acting career on radio, television, stage and in film.

When he’s not on the dance floor, the 29-year-old works as a loan officer for Cash Store. “Some people say I’m a loan shark,” he chuckles. And when the work-week plods along, he always has Thursday to look forward to.

“Dallas has been great,” he says. “I didn’t think it would open its arms as much as it did. I still feel like a kid in a candy store.”

Mikyles performs at the Rose Room inside Station 4, 3911 Cedar Springs Road on Thursdays. PartyAtTheBlock.com.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 16, 2011.

RICH LOPEZ  | Staff Writer
lopez@dallasvoice.com

Blaine Soileau wouldn’t say that his DJing is about his image. The beefy arms, scruffy good looks and shirtless spinning, however, don’t hurt one bit when he’s at the turntable. If being a muscle daddy gets him a few fans… well, there are worse fates.

Soileau has been a staple in the Dallas DJ scene for years, but don’t mistake his image for his talent. He’s been mixing music since well before he had hair on his pecs.

“I started [DJing] in high school, which was 1979,” he says. “I feel like I’ve gotten where I’m at not because of any image. I just knew how to market myself.”

Soileau (pronounced “swallow”) knows the P.R. game well, owing to a stint in Los Angeles when he pursued an acting career. Having to get his name out as much as possible was the game then and it continues to be now. It’s just a different arena.

He’s fared much better on the DJ path than acting. Soileau has built himself into a marquee name even outside Texas. With bookings in D.C., L.A, Phoenix, Fire Island and more, he’s not only put his name into a national spotlight, he’s also bringing something back to Dallas each time with some specific hope and with his regular gig at the Dallas Eagle.

“The gay scene here is finally graduating to what’s going on now,” he says. “I never really had good things to say about Dallas’ music scene because of my travels. The music I would experience in other cities was always livelier and happening.”

He’s changed his mind now that he senses Dallas audiences aren’t “stuck in the ’80s and ’90s” anymore. It’s taking a while, but the sounds of Los Angeles, New York and even Eastern Europe are making way here. And Soileau sees audiences responding.

“For a while, all of us [DJs] here had to spoon-feed the crowd, but I think it’s moving into a good direction,” he says. “The stuff I’m playing at the Eagle, and the other DJs, we have a much more progressive sound.”

He brings that sound to Release, the club night he hosts at the Eagle twice a month. As Soileau infuses a cosmopolitan, modern sound to his party, he’s still a purist about technique.  He’s embraced digital music over vinyl, but in a time when people can call themselves a DJ and program their mixes to autopilot, Soileau still brings some of his old skills to the proverbial turntable.

“There is definitely so much more you can do with digital music, but I don’t agree with the programs some are using,” he says. “I’m so thankful I learned how to beat-mix. I can manipulate a song just as I would a piece of vinyl and line up the beats old school. Programs that sync songs for you, that’s not DJing.”

Sometimes Soileau sounds like he misses the club environs of years before. He enjoyed playing the anthems of disco divas like Kristine W and Deborah Cox, but he finds that sound isn’t happening right now. His focus was on house music with vocals, but trends now lead to more instrumental tracks. But an unlikely tool now works in his favor.

“The good thing is that radio has become more dance oriented,” he says. “There are no remixes needed so when people go out to clubs, they wanna hear stuff on the radio. That gets them on the floor dancing. When it gets packed, then I can give them what I want but maintain the energy of it.”

Soileau doesn’t worry about setting himself apart from other DJs; he just wants a flawless night. So if that means playing music from the radio in order to have a happy dance floor, he’s on board with that.

“If I have to bite the bullet and play Britney, am I selling out? No,” he says. “My goal is to make people have a good time. I’ve never thought about being different from other DJs.”

Which perhaps makes him different after all.

But we still like it when he takes his shirt off.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 19, 2011.

Samuel Colt, left, and Chris Porter

Maybe you could call it ironic that the weekend before Fat Tuesday, Dallas is being inundated with lots of muscle. It also gives those gays who head down to Cedar Springs something to repent during Lent: Lustful feelings will be top on the list.

Over at The Tin Room, Men magazine’s Man of the Year for 2010, Samuel Colt, pictured top right, joins real-life boyfriend and fellow adult film star Chris Porter, below right, for two nights of booty-shaking deliciousness. They will make a joint appearance starting at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Also on Saturday, hot star and multiple GayVN Award winner Ricky Sinz, pictured below, will make his Dallas bow with an appearance at TMC: The Mining Company. You can get your photo taken with the sexy hunk beginning at 11:30 p.m

Samuel Colt and Chris Porter at the Tin Room, 2514 Hudnall St. March 4 and 5, 11 p.m.—2 a.m.

Ricky Sinz at TMC: The Mining Company, 3903 Cedar Springs Road. March 5, 11:30 p.m.

— Arnold Wayne Jones

MEN OF DENIM | Ostmeyer, Payne, Johnson, Frazier and Roy now all own the Dallas Eagle.

ARNOLD WAYNE JONES  | Life+Style Editor
jones@dallasvoice.com

Until about a month ago, everything Jeffrey Payne knew about a bar was how to order a Sprite in one (Payne doesn’t drink). Maybe how to cruise a guy during happy hour. That was it.

That’s changing. Fast.

At the end of January, Payne and his partner David Roy became shareholders in the Dallas Eagle.

“David and I have been speaking about it for a few years. We toyed with starting our own bar, had looked at other bars that had come up for sale in the meantime but never found what we were looking for,” Payne says.

Then last year Mark Frazier, one of the owners of the Eagle, approached them. “He heard we were looking,” Payne says, and asked if they would be interested in investing. Things progressed fairly quickly from there.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Payne says. ”Working with Mark and Cully Johnson and Jerry Ostmeyer, who are the other owners, we all bring something different to the table. We’re all active. There’s no silent partner, no one standing on the sidelines. Lot of changes have either happened or are about to happen. The DJ booth is now against the side; new countertops are being put in; and we have an updated draft [beer] system.”

Payne’s history with the Eagle is notable. He was named Mr. Dallas Eagle in 2008 — the first step on his way to Mr. Texas Leather and finally International Mr. Leather, a title he held from May 2009 to 2010 and for which he received widespread acclaim throughout the community for his leadership.

“Having been around the world like I have been, getting to know the hugely supportive gay community — not just the leather community — I wanted to be more involved,” he says. “The Eagle was just the right thing we were looking for. It’s a Levi/leather bar, but it doesn’t stop there: The bears, the court, the drag queens, softball teams, the bowling league — it’s not limited to just one sector of the community. It’s a wide array of people. Even straight people who are involved in the gay community hold activities there.”

“Bar owner” joins Payne’s other job titles of late, which also include running a court reporting service and serving on his non-profit Sharon St. Cyr Foundation, which raises money for hearing aids and sign interpretation for the deaf community. Payne is going deaf, although it has not progressed as fast as his doctors had predicted.

“It has gradually gotten worse but I’ll hang on to every day I can,” he says. ”Understanding is escaping more and more. David said something to me this morning and what I heard and what he said were on two different planes. Mine was much funnier.”

His hearing impairment also figures into his work at the Eagle — in some not-to-predictable ways.

“Sunday was the first time I worked behind the bar,” he says. “When I’m at the Eagle I don’t wear my hearing aids so people were placing orders and I didn’t hear them.”

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 4, 2011.

COMPLETELY REMASTERED  |  Sands found strength in his partner, Morgan, and his colleagues to make a return to DJing after fighting cancer, and he found a residence at the Dallas Eagle. (Arnold Wayne Jones/Dallas Voice)

RICH LOPEZ  | Staff Writer
lopez@dallasvoice.com

After performing for thousands of people, you wouldn’t expect DJ Troy Sands to get nervous easily. But his nerves are a jumble as he gets ready for his close-up.

Back in the day, he was quick to shed his shirt for a little beefcake snapshot. Not so much anymore. Sands is re-learning to be comfortable in from of the camera after a bout with cancer that affected his mouth and face, including a complete bone replacement of his jaw. But Sands compensates with a renewed vigor that is about to put him back in the game after a five-year absence.

“I really was about to throw in the towel,” Sands says. “But the things that are happening now tell me it’s for a reason. I’ve been given a gift and I’d be foolish to waste it.”

For most of the last decade, Sands has been virtually invisible in the club DJ scene. He built a name in Dallas spinning regularly at the old Brick and had high-profile gigs such as opening for legendary DJ Junior Vasquez at Club One and hosting T-dances at Liquid. He developed a reputation as a guest DJ nationally before that trend had really taken off, remixing and producing music for the Hot Tracks and Direct Hit labels. In dance music circles, the Dallas-based spin doctor was a pretty damn big deal.

Sands’ DJ career had hit its stride by 2005, with him on the cusp of achieving his personal goals. Working with high profile artists and keeping his nationwide gigs regular, Sands was getting the name recognition he wanted and even needed for a long career as a DJ — it was also wearing him down.

Then came Christmas 2006.

Sands felt something inside his mouth that seemed off. He dismissed it, but his partner, Morgan Millican, ended up taking him to get it checked out.

HEY MR. DJ | ‘I wanted to make sure I left a mark so people can say I was here,’ he says about his music. With a new lease on life, Sands is anxious to take audiences on musical journeys again.

“The day after Christmas, I got news that squamous cell carcinoma showed up on my biopsy [in his mouth]. It was devastating,” he says. He had had two previous cancer diagnoses, but that was 10 years earlier. And this was a lot more serious. (It is similar to the cancer than has afflicted Roger Ebert, though Ebert’s is more severe, Sands says.)
Sands was in good physical shape and health, despite being HIV-positive, but with his compromised immune system, this cancer was back with a vengeance.

“I knew something was wrong and I had to do something,” he says. “I hadn’t been taking any antivirals and I didn’t have insurance, so I got scared. I didn’t think I had any choices, but Morgan kicked me in the ass to look into it.”

Initially, doctors at Baylor Hospital decided severing his tongue to eliminate the cancer was the only option — and even with that, they gave Sands only a 25 percent survival rate. But the doctors who had treated him for cancer in 1997 stepped in and moved him to Parkland.

“I was hesitant to get into their system, but I found out that people shouldn’t be afraid of Parkland,” he says. “I didn’t have any choices. They became my saviors. I almost died in 2007. I normally weigh about 165 and had lost 45 pounds. But if you look at me today, it’s thanks to Parkland.”

Still, it was the hardest road he has ever taken.

Sands worked his last gig in February 2007 in Akron, Ohio, at the Hearts on Fire circuit party before undergoing chemo and radiation treatment on his face and neck throughout that spring. Although he kept his day job at the Knox-Henderson branch of the Apple store through November 2008, the radiation took its toll — and was also liquefying his jawbone.

“I worked through my treatment, and I was very happy at Apple,” he says. “But I had to leave to get focused on my health. It wasn’t until almost a year later, that I was diagnosed with osteoradionecrosis, where the jaw bone is dead.”
Sands had jaw replacement surgery in May 2009. You could literally say his leg bone’s connected to his head bone: A medical team connected a portion of his fibula to replace the missing mandible. Then he learned that the cancer had been incubating in his lungs.

“I thought I was cancer free, but it was found in the upper left lobe of the lung and I had to have that removed [last] October,” he says.

Sands had a long tenure at the Brick when it was located on Maple Avenue, building up his name there. When the club was closing and regular DJs returned for a big farewell bash, it broke his heart that he could not attend. He did return eventually to the club in the new space last September, but his optimism was outweighed by self-imposed pressure.

“I was depressed not to be part of the closing party, but I look back and it would have been foolish to do it,” he says. “When I played the Brick this last time, I had mentally gone to a dark place. My skill was rusty and I was nervous. I was trying to be what they remembered and tried too hard.”

Local DJ Blaine Soileau stepped in to help get Sands back on track, but in his eyes, he was merely returning a favor.

“Troy was my inspiration to move forward with my DJ/production career and into the circuit realm,” Soileau says. “The face of music and touring has changed dramatically since his departure from the scene.”

Sands was there helping Soileau get his career off the ground and he credits him with lighting a fire under him to now get back into the game. Soileau loaned him equipment to tinker with and pushed to have him play at the Dallas Eagle, only this time, Sands feels ready.

“Blain told me that the Eagle was interested in talking to me,” Sands says. “I used to be the one trying to help people and now Blaine was working to help me get back. The crowd and staff seem excited and [owner] Mark Frazier has been awesome. What they are going to hear from me is not your typical circuit fare, but definitely appropriate for the club. This is giving me my life back and I have Blaine and Chris to thank for that.”

Chris refers to famed DJ Chris Cox, who owned the Hot Tracks label Sands worked on and who has now gone on to international fame. To Sands, Cox has been an inspiration and hero. That was reaffirmed when Cox performed at the 2010 Austin Pride in front of thousands and requested Sands as the opener.

“I think his passion for music is partially responsible for his fight to live,” Cox says. “I knew he still had it in him but he needed to be sure. When he was on at Pride, he totally nailed it. I’m so happy to see he’s come back. This is beyond surviving the cancer. He’s living again.”

Sands now finds himself with a resident gig at the Dallas Eagle twice a month, calling the night “Troy Built.” He loves the name, but is more in tune with the shirt he has on from Apple. Across his chest is blazoned the motto: “Completely remastered.”

“It’s a magical feeling when you connect to the crowd and Dallas has allowed me to take them on a musical journey,” he says. “I’m lit again and figuratively and physically, I do feel remastered.”

As only a DJ would say.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition Jan. 21, 2011.

JEF TINGLEY  | Contributing Writer jeftingley@sbcglobal.net

BUNNY, HOPPING | The drag diva makes three appearances during Pride weekend in Dallas, both as a DJ and performer.

BUNNY DOES DALLAS
DJing at the ilume,
4123 Cedar Springs Road.
Dish on Sept. 18, 11 p.m.–1 a.m.,
lot along the parade route on
Sept. 19, noon–4 p.m.
Drag show at the Rose Room at Station 4, 3911 Cedar Springs Road. Sept. 19 at midnight.

…………………………………….

A founding foremother of the modern drag scene, Lady Bunny hides some big brains and even bigger ideas in her oversized wigs. Best known for creating Wigstock (a gender-bending drag fest in NYC) and DJing some at see-and-be-seen parties around the country, she has recently taken to the boob tube as the “dean of drag” on RuPaul’s Drag U, exposing a new audience to her machine-gun-style sass.

We caught up with Bun Bun to chat about her upcoming Dallas appearances, as well as some good behind-the-scenes gossip on the set of the Logo hit.

Dallas Voice: Welcome back to Dallas. You’re giving us the whole Bunny: DJ and drag diva. Which is more fun, performing or spinning? Lady Bunny: I like both. Who knows, I might be flipping burgers in the kitchen and checking coats, too. You never get bored if you are constantly changing it up.

You have a rep as a DJ who gives the people what they want, but what song makes you just want to just slit your wrist with a press-on nail? I hate Britney — I think that her music is like nursery rhymes. I’m really glad Gaga has come along. I’m not even Lady Gaga’s biggest fan musically, but at least she’s not some prepackaged dummy. She writes her music and sings it.

Tell us about “West Virginia Gurls,” your send up of the earworm hit by Katy Perry, Once I realized that West Virginia could be substituted for California, the possibilities were endless. It’s all about moonshine, inbreeding and blacked-out teeth. And the video is bound to go viral — every cast member has a couple of viruses.

You serve as dean of drag on RuPaul’s Drag U. If it wasn’t Ru hosting that show, who do you think should have had their name on the marquee? I think Lady Bunny’s Drag U has a nicer ring to it. I’m kidding. Ru is my old roommate — we are thick as thieves.

Why have shows like Drag Race and Drag U developed such cult appeal? This whole nation is makeover crazy. There’s this notion that has been kicking around since Queer Eye that gays have the secret, but now drag queens have it. That’s how Drag U became a show — women loved the transformations on Drag Race. And I have a message for these women: Honey, we will make you over and make you look fabulous, but return the favor. Go home and teach your husbands and your sons that we are worthwhile people — don’t beat us and kill us.

Any good footage of you on the cutting room floor? I got a lot of stuff in there that they didn’t use. There was one episode with a girl who was self conscious about her big nose. I said, “You look great, and I don’t know why you think you have a big nose. By the way, I love those sunglasses. Oh wait, those are your nostrils.” I guess they thought that was too mean.

You’re also profiled in a new series called Queens of Drag. Tell us about that. It’s all about the many wacky queens of New York City. My webisode just came out on Gay.com. You just can’t get away from Bun Bun, she’s everywhere!

If you had the opportunity to create your personae all over again, is there anything you’d changed? The name was like a bad joke that stuck, but by the time I realized it, I was like, “Girl, this is your career.” I was too far in to really change it. In a weird way it does fit: It’s a retarded name, but I guess I’m retarded. Somehow it works. If I changed anything, it would probably the name.

Speaking of names, what’s the best drag name you’ve heard? Suppositori Spelling from San Francisco. That’s a good one.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 17, 2010.

RICH LOPEZ | Staff Writer lopez@dallasvoice.com

COOL DADDY | DJ Tony Moran is chill, but heats up the dancefloor.

Dallas Pride also marks the return of the Purple Foundation.  Every year, the organization hosts a circuit party benefiting AIDS Services of Dallas. When the floats are put up and the straight onlookers have gone back to the ’burbs, it becomes the afterparty of afterparties.

With the DJ talents of Tony Moran and Alyson Calagna headlining, the foundation hosts Spectrum: Dallas Pride Tea Dance at the Brick on Sunday. And clearly, this is one tea party you don’t have worry about repealing your rights.

Moran is one of the primo DJs in the gay circuit scene, but over the span of his career, he’s stepped away from the underground to produce and write tunes for mainstream artists such as Cher and Michael Jackson. Thankfully, he doesn’t forget his club divas: Moran has had major dancefloor smashes with the likes of Deborah Cox (“Everybody Dance”) and Kristine W. (“Walk Away”), among others.

Expect Calagna to bring her own game, employing her signature omtronica sound, “mixing sexual, sensual and spiritual rhythms with tones of empowerment and ecstasy. “ We’re not sure what it means, but we’ll definitely have what she’s having.

Sure it’s a Sunday, but it’s also Pride weekend. Forget your Monday hangover and tired feet and end your Pride celebration on a high note. (For the weary, a free shuttle will whisk people from the ilume and Walgreens over to the Brick.) More importantly, try to remember it — sometimes these celebrations can be a blur.

The Brick, 2525 Wycliff Ave., #125. Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. $20. DallasPurpleParty.org.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 17, 2010.

STEVEN LINDSEY  | Contributing Writer stevencraiglindsey@me.com

JASON DOTTLEY
The Rose Room,
3911 Cedar Springs Road.
Sept. 18. Gay Bingo at 6 p.m.;
concert after 10 p.m.
“Hit Play” and “Party Round the World” on iTunes.

…………………………

Getting a song on the Billboard Top 20 is probably the dream of every singer, but to have it happen on the first song you’ve ever released? That’s reason to party.

Such is the recent success of Jason Dottley. He’s familiar as the actor who played Ty on TV’s Sordid Lives, written and directed by his (legal!) husband Del Shores. But he expanded into recording artist faster that you can say Bruce Willis and The Return of Bruno. His first single, “Party Round the World” with Debby Holiday, spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart, peaking at No. 19. Dottley’s newest single, “Hit Play,” just dropped this summer.

Dottley will be in Dallas for Gay Pride weekend performing (not in drag, he promises) in the Rose Room Saturday, which coincides perfectly with the single’s official release for Billboard charting purposes.

But despite his successes in the studio, Dottley says has no plans of releasing a full album. “I think it’s a single’s world like it was back when Elvis ruled the radio,” he explains. “Hit record after hit record: That’s my plan.”

The new track, he says, is an ode to DJs.

“To the Dallas DJs Roger Huffman, Erik Thoresen, Ronnie Bruno, Ric Herrington and Renee Brown who supported my

‘Party Round the World’ so much,” Dottley says. “When I lost my dad at 18, I would go to clubs three nights a week. They were my church, my sanctuary. And as they say, God was the DJ, so I’m asking him to ‘Hit Play’ — to open the doors of the dancetuary, so to speak.”

Though breaking the Top 20 on a debut is impressive, Dottley has set the bar higher for “Hit Play.”

“I have a stellar line-up of remixes by the U.K.’s No. 1 hit-maker, Cutmore, the insanely rowdy Perry Twins, circuit-king Manny Lehman, late-night’s Twisted Dee, my gem of a discovery Chris Thomas and the straight world’s Frank Pellegrino. It’s a helluva remix package.”

Because Shores is from Texas, Dottley has been a frequent visitor to the city, so he’s glad that during his trip here, he’ll partake in a grand, gay tradition.

“I’ll also be doing Gay Bingo beforehand,” he says. “That’s a dream come true. I’ve been practicing, ‘O–69!’”

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 17, 2010.